Button-machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

C. J. COLEMAN.

BUTTON MAGHINE.

No. 394,676. v Patented Deo. 18, 1888.

l iii! (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. J. COLEMAN.

BUTTON MACHINE.

No. 394,676. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

C. J. COLEMAN. BUTTON MACHINE. No. 394,676. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

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N. PETERS. Phomumngnpmr. washington. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLYDF. J. COLEMAN, OF GIDEON, KANSAS.

BUTTON-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,676, dated December 18, 1888.

Application tiled August 18, 1888. Serial No. 283,124. (No model.)

To all 'Lv/wm. it may concern.-

Be it known that l, (LYDE J. COLEMAN, of Gideon, in the county of Douglas and State of Kansas, have invented a new and'lmproved Machine for rll'lreading Fasteners onto Buttons, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a machine for th reading staple-fasteners to buttons and passing the fastener-tlneaded buttons to a sluittle which, when filled, will be adjusted to another machine, which secures the buttons by the fasteners to the vamps of boots or shoes or to other articles.

The invention has for-its object to provide a simple comparatively inexpensive machine which, when Ysupplied with buttons and fasteners, will operate auti'natically to thread the fasteners onto the buttons and carry the fastener-threaded buttons to the shuttle.

rlhe invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations ot' parts of the machine, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a rear perspective view of my improved machine for threading metallic fasteners onto shoe-lnittons, partly broken away. Fig. l*l is a detail perspecthfe view of the outcrcouplingof the fastener-chute. Fig. 2 is a front perspective view ot' the machine. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the button-chute. Fig. 3 is a plan view ot' the machine with the fastener box or reservoir partly in horizontal section. Fig. i is a vertical transverse section of the fastener-box. Fig'. 5 is a detail longitudinal section al view of the fastener-box, illustrating the escape of the fasteners therefrom; and Fig. (i is a detail perspective view of portions of the fastener-chute, the .inclined fastener-guide, and the plunger which carries the fasteners to and through the eyes of the shoe-buttons.

A suitable frame, A, made, preferably, of cast metal, supports the operating mechanism of the machine, as hereinafter explained. The button box or reservoir 'B is fixed to a bracket, a, fastened to the' frame A, and in which bracket is journaled the button-feed wheel C, which is provided with a series of magnets, c, which as thc wheel is rotated by its handle c pass up into and through a slot, b, in the in ner wall of the button-box, and by their attraction for the metallic eyes d of the buttons D draw the buttons from the box and pass them to a chute, E, which extends to a point of intersection with the fastener-chute F, where the fasteners G, while being pushed forward alongI this chute F by a plunger, H, are threaded into the button-eyes, as hereinafter described.

The front end, e, of the button-chute, which overhangs the box B, is longitudinally slotted to receive the button-eyesd edgewise only, and the rear part, e, of the chute is formed with a central longitudinal depression, e2, which receives the button-eyes edgewise as the buttons are stripped from the magnets c by their contact with the front end of the part e of the chute or the point of junction of both parts e cf thereof. The rear portion of the part e of the button-chute is connected to an angular plate which forms one side and the top ot' the chute at this portion of it, and the portion e of the chute has a top slot, e3, through which the bristles of a brush, I, pass to feed the buttons forward to the point of junction of the fastener-chute, said brush being rotated by the engagement of a pinion, i2, on its shaft t' with a gear-wheel or annular rack, c2, fixed to or formed on the feed-wheel C. This brush is not essential to the successful working of the machine, because if the button-chute were sufficiently inclined the buttons stripped by it from the feed-wheel magnets would move forward to the fastener-chute by their own gravity.

The fastener-box J is supported in the upwardly-extending end or post d of the rear right-hand extension of the main frame A and to a short post, a2, on the frame, said posts CL a2 being connected and stayed by a horizontal bent frame-bar, a3, fixed to their upper ends. The outer end or head of the cylindrical fastener-box J is fixed to the main body of the box, and by a shaft or stud, K, has a bearing in the post a', and carries a pinion, k2, which meshes with another pinion, Zc, fast to a shaft, lc, which is journaled in bearings IOO a4, held to the frame-bar a3, and is coupledby a universal joint, L, with the shaft i' of the button-feed brush I, above mentioned. opposite head or end, j, of the fastener-box is fixed to the post a2 and has an annular interlocking or tongue-and-groove connectiomj', with the main body of the box, which thus will rotate on the bearings K j when the shafts t lc are rotated from the button-feed wheel C. The fastener-box is provided with a suitable side door, y2, which. may be unlatched and opened to allow the fasteners G to be charged into the box promiscuously or in` bulk.v

Within the box J is fixed to its stationary head j a semi-cylindrical tube or guide, M, which projects nearly to the outer end or head of thebox and stands about parallel with the front curved side or wall of the box a sufficient distance to allow blades or wipers js, which are fixed to and along the inner face of the box, to rotate next the curved wall m of the'` guide M and carry the staple-fasteners G in the box up along said wall and drop them from the top of it and next the opposite ver tical wall, m', of the guide.

To the outer end of the guide is fixed the bent end of an inclinedwire or rail, N, which is about parallel with and a little removed from the guide-wall m and passes through a clined rail, O, the lower end of which is supported immediately over an opening, f, made in the top wall of the fastener-chute F.- Over l this rail O, and spaced evenly therefrom for a distance about equaling the thickness of the vwire of the fasteners G, is arranged a capplate, o, below which and on the rail pass the fasteners which had been caught on the inclined rail N as they fell from the guide M in the box J and had passed thence to the rail O on their way to the chute opening f, throughwhich opening the fasteners fall one by one in front of the drawn-back plunger H, which will on its forward st-roke carry the fasteners through the eyes of the buttons, as hereinafter more fully explained. t

To the inner face of the fastener-box head 'j is held one end of an elastic clearer-plate, P, or it may be' an inelastic plate normally thrown outward at its lower free end by a spring. Over the clearer-plate there is preferably fixed to the Vbox-head j a guard or capplate, p', which prevents catching of the 'fasteners G onto the top of the plate P as they fall down. over the guide M. The lower y' end of the clearer-plate is provided with a slot, p, of about the same general form as the exterior/of the fasteners, but, a. little larger, and the plate P is connected by a rod, p2, with a lever, 4R,`which is. fulcrumed at. r on the' frarneA, or a" bracket yor arm, a5, connected thereto. One end of the lever R or its short armA is connected by a pitman, fr', with the wristl of a crank, i', formed on or fixed to the Shaft 1 1, and the other end orlong arm of thelev'er is coupled by a link r2, withthe' back The- .-plate will let only those fasteners hanging directly and properly onto the rail N escape through the box-openingj4 onto and along the rail O-,and thereby will prevent jamming of the fasteners atany point on their way down-V ward to the chute F. The plunger is operated froin the -lever R simultaneously with the operation of the clearer-plate by the lever.

To the rear end and upper part of the button-chute E there is hinged a plate, S, which extends rearward and has a downwardv bend at s over the point of junction of the button and fastener chutes E F, this bend forming a l pocket to stop the buttons,which are fed one at a timeto proper position -to receive one tang of a fastener, G, by a lever, T, as presently explained. The plate S is normally drawn down'- ward.` to exert a proper clamping action on the buttons by a spring, s', connected to it and to the frame A. (See Fig. l of the drawings.) The feed-lever-T is fulcrumed near the point of junction of the button and fastener chutes and has a hook -shaped short arm which works horizontally Within the button-chute behind the button-feed brush I and operates to carry only one button, D, at a time into proper position to receive its staple-fastening.

The button-feed lever T is connected by a link, l", with the rear'end of a rod or bar, U,

which is fitted to slide on the frame A and has a bent forward end, u, which is pivotally .connected at a with the lever R at a point between its'fulcrum r and the connection of the plunger-operating link r2 wi th said lever. The rod U is held by slotted and hook bearings IOC IIO

u2 `u2,engaging a squared or fiattened part of it, and a bearing, u3,-engaging a rounded part of it, so that the rod may slide endwise, but not turn axially, and whereby the dow'nbent end n4 of the rod will always maintain the same general position relatively to the outer end or tail of the clamp-lever S to cause said part u to act as a cam which will lift the clamp-lever to allow the plunger to force] the fastenerthreaded button D beyond the point of junction of the chutes E F, and onward toward the shuttle V, which receives thethreaded buttons and fasteners. This shuttle Vis held to the back end of the chute F by Vmeans of a.

coupling, W, which is preferably fixed to the chuteF and projects about half its length be- .'yond it, so that the end of the shuttle maybe inserted in it to receive the fastener-threaded buttons. YThe coupling Vhas a top slot, w',

which coincides withthe top slot, f ofthe tom opening, rzu, which allows the fasteners G to fall or swing downward as they hang on the button-eyes, so as to be outside of the shuttle while the button-heads pass along within the shuttle,which has a bottom slot allowing passage of the eyes of the buttons. This shuttle receives the fastener-threaded buttons from the chute F, and when it is filled it will be removed from the coupling' XV and placed in another machine, by which the buttons are fastened to the shoe vamps or uppers in any approved way. I am not limited to the use of any special form of shutt-le or other device receiving the fastener-threaded buttons from the chute F of the machine. The button-box (Shown inFig. 2 of the drawings.) The forward or acting end of the plunger H is inclined or beveled, as at h, so that it shifts the fastener G which it is pushing ahead of it sidewise a little to enter one of the sides or limbs of the fastener into the eye of the shoebutton.

In view of the aforesaid detailed descripti'on of the machine, a brief general statement of its operation will suffice, as follows: The box B having been supplied with buttons D and the box J being charged with fasteners G, the feed-wheel C will be rotated. The buttons, carried from the box B by the magnets c and passed therefrom into the chute E and carried along said chute either by the brush I or their own gravity, will reach the point of intersection of the chutesE F about the time that the fasteners G will be strung onto the guides N O and passed downward to the chute F, and the plunger H, which is reciprocated by the lever R, actuated from the cranked shaft i, will carry one fastener G forward by its point or head 71, and the first button D, having been carried with its eye about in line with the groove f of the fastener-chute by the operation of the lever T as the plunger had made its last backward stroke, will be held by the clamp plate or lever S with its eye in place to receive one side or limb of the fastener. After the continued forward stroke of the plunger had carried the fastener into the button eye the rod U will have been moved far enough forward by the lever R to cause its -cam end u" to raise the clamp-plate S sufficiently to allow the fastener-threaded button to be forced ahead by the plunger, and as this button leaves the point of intersection of the chutes E F it will be turned one-quarter around to present its eye d edgewise to the slot f of'ch ute F, along which the button moves, or may be carried by the following fastener-threaded buttons until it enters the coupling IV, wherein the fast-ener swings down on the button-eye and hangs from4 it, and finally passes into the shuttle V, which, when filled, will be removed and replaced by another shuttle. On the backward stroke of the plunger the clamp-plate S will fall as the rod U or its cam n4 recedes from it, and the lever T, which had been moved out of the chute E on the forward stroke of the plunger to allow one button D to pass by its hooked end, will again be actuated to carry said button forward to the point of intersection of the chutes E F, where it will be held bythe clampplate S ready to receive the next fastener carried forward by the plunger, the whole operation being performed quickly and automatically, as will readily be understood.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination of a support,button i and fastener boxes, intersecting chutes on the B is preferably provided with a cover, b.

support and receiving thebuttons and fasteners, magnets for taking the but-tons from their box and delivering them to the lnitton-chute, guides for carrying the fasteners from their box to the fastener-chute, and a plunger working at the fastener-chute and carrying the fasteners through the button-eyes at the point of intersection of the chutes, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination of a support, button and fastener boxes, intersecting chutes on the support and receiving the buttons and fasteners, guides for delivering the fasteners to their chute, a clamp for holding the buttons at the point of intersection of the chut-es, and a plun ger working at the fastener-chute and carrying the fasteners through the button-eyes at the point of intersection of the chutes, substantially as herein set forth.

3. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination of a support, button and fastener boxes, intersecting chutes on the support and receiving the buttons and fasteners, guides for delivering the fasteners to their chute, a clamp for holding the buttons at the point of intersection of the chutes, a lever for feeding the buttons singly to said point and to the clamp, and a plunger working at the fastener-chute and carrying the fasteners through the button-eyes at the point of intersection of the chutes, suliistantially as herein set forth.

4;. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination of a support, button and fastener boxes, intersecting chutes on the support and receiving the buttons and fasteners, magnets for taking the buttons from their box and delivering them to the buttonchute, guides for carrying the fasteners to their chute, a clamp for holding the buttons at the point of intersection of the chutes, a lever for feeding the buttons singly to said point and to the clamp, and a plunger working at the fastener-chute and carrying the fasteners through the button-eyes at the point of intersection of the chutes, substantially as herein set forth.

5. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination of a support, button and fastener boxes, intersecting chutes on the support and receiving the buttons and fasten- IOO IIO

for releasing the buttons from the clamp,

`and a plunger Working at the fastener-chute and carrying the fasteners through the button-eyes at the point of intersection of the chutes, substantially as herein set forth.

6. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination, with a support, of button and fastener boxes, intersecting chutes for receiving the buttons and fasteners, a feed-Wheel provided With magnets taking the buttons from their box and deli vering them to their chute, a plunger working at the fastener-chute and carrying the fasteners through thel button-eyes, and gearing connecting the feed-Wheel, the fastener-box, and the plunger for actuating all three simultaneously as the feed-Wheel is rotated, substantially as herein. set forth.

7,. In a machine Afor threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination, with a support, of button and fastener boxes, intersecting chutes for receiving the buttons andlfasteners, a feed-Wheel having magnets for taking the buttons from their box and delivering them totheir chute, aclamp for holding thev buttons at the point of intersection of the chutes, a lever for feeding the buttons singly to said point and to the clamp, a plunger Working at the fastener-chute and carrying the fasteners through the button eyes, and gearing connecting the feed-Wheel, the fastener-box, the button-clamp, the feed-lever, and the plunger for actuating all simultaneously as the feed-Wheel is rotated, substantially as herein set forth.

8. In a machine for threading fasteners onto -button-eyes, the combination, with intersect- Y ing button and fastener chutes, -of aclamp for holding the buttons at the point of intersection of the chutes, a plunger operating at thefastener-chute, a lever for operating the plunger, a cam-rod operated from said lever and raising` the clamp to release thebuttons, a Vfeed-lever for taking the buttons singly from their chute and passing them to the clamp, and a connection between the feed-lever and the cam-rod operating the lever from the rod, substantially as herein set forth.

9. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination, with intersecting button and fastener chutes, of a brush Workarm will take the buttons singly from their chute and carry them directly to the point of intersection of the chutes and into position y to receive the fasteners, as herein set forth.

11. In the herein-described ymachine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combionto buttons, the combination, 'with intersecting button and fastener chutes, of a button-feeding lever for taking the buttons singly from their chute and passing them tov the point of intersection of the chutes, a clamp for holding the-buttons in this position, vand a plunger operating at the fastener-chute and carrying the fastener through the button-eyes, substantially as herein set forth.

13., In a machine for threading fasteners onto, buttons, the combination, With intersecting button and lfastener chutes, a clamp device for holding the buttons at the point of intersection of the chutes, a plunger operating at the fastener-chute, and a lever for actuatin'g the plunger, of a cam-rod Worked from the plunger-operating lever and opening 'the clamp to allow discharge of the fastenerthreaded button, substantially as herein set forth.- J n let. In the herein-described machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination, with continuous intersecting buttonV and fastener chutes, of a plunger Working in the fastener-chute and having a beveled forward end which directs one side or limb of the staple-fastener into the button-eye, substantially as herein set forth.

15. The herein described machinel for threading fasteners onto buttons provided With intersecting button and fastener chutes, one of said chutes beyond their point rof intersection and at its extreme end being provided with a bottom opening permitting downsvving of the fasteners threaded onto the button-eyes, substantially as herein set forth.

I6. In the herein-described vmachine for threading fasteners onto buttons and provided With intersecting button and fastener chutes, the combination, with the chut-es at a point beyond their intersection, of 'a shuttle'- coupling device provided at its extremeouter end with a bottom opening 'permitting downsvving of the fasteners threaded onto the buttonleyes, substantially as herein set forth.

`1 7. 'In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the `'fastener-box made with a stationary head and `vvith a rotating body lifting the fasteners, a guide on the stationary vhead and ranging along the side of vthe box,

and an'inclined rail for catching vthe fasten'- ers brought up and dropped over said guide.

stantially as herein 's'et forth. 5

18. n a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination, with a rotating fastener-box provided With an inclined rail for catching the fasteners, and a fastener-chute having an openingl admitting the fasteners singly, of a guide-rail extendingI from the fastener-box rail to the chiite-opening, and a eapplate arranged over the guide-rail next the ehuteopening, substantially as herein set forth.

19. In a machine for threading fasten ers onto buttons, the rotating fastener-box provided with an inclined rail for catching the fasteners, combined with a clearer-plate operating' inside the box and over the rail to assure proper feed of the fasteners from the box, substantially as herein set forth.

20. In a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, the combination, with the fastener-chute, aplunger Working thereat, a lever operating the plunger, the rotating fastenerbox, an inclined rail in said box for catching the fasteners, and a clearer-plate for regulating the outiioW of the fasteners, of a rod connecting the clearer-plate with the plunger-operating lever, substantially as herein set forth. 2l. The combination, in a machine for threading fasteners onto buttons, of a frame, intersecting button and fastener chutes thereon, button and fastener boxes, devices for feeding the buttons and fasteners to their respeetive chutes, a button-feed wheel journaled on the frame, shafts t' 7c, also journaled on the frame, a universal joint, L, coupling the shafts, and gearing for operating the shafts and the fastener-box by the rotation of the feed-wheel, substantially as herein set forth.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN.

lvitnesses:

F. L. WOODRUFF, E. L. MCILRAIN. 

